Man Known For Transit-Related Crimes Caught Stealing A Greyhound Bus

A man who’s been arrested 29 times for transit-related crimes found himself behind bars again for stealing a Greyhound bus, The New York Post reports.

Darius McCollum, 50, was arrested Wednesday in Brooklyn for hijacking the Greyhound from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City.

After it was reported missing, police tracked the bus with GPS software provided by the company to Park Slope, where they found McCollum behind the wheel. He allegedly wore a badged uniform when he picked up the empty bus. McCollum was charged with grand larceny, possession of a forged instrument, criminal impersonation of a police officer, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and criminal possession of stolen property.

McCollum has been arrested 29 times since he was 15. He became obsessed with trains and buses at the age of 8, when he memorized the subway map and learned about the MTA from friendly workers. He’s attempted to get a job with the MTA several times. When he was 15, he was arrested for operating an E subway train from 34th Street to the World Trade Center without anyone noticing.

McCollum suffers from Asperger’s syndrome — now known as an autism spectrum disorder. Lawyers believe many of his past arrests could have been avoided if he was diagnosed sooner.

He has impersonated a subway worker, driven a bus from a Harlem depot to Queens Village and gotten behind the wheel of a subway repair truck. In 2010, McCollum was ­arrested for swiping a Trailways bus from a depot in Hoboken, NJ. He was caught on his way to JFK Airport. McCollum served just over three years for the crime after taking a plea deal, which allowed him to enter a cognitive-behavioral-therapy program.